NannoFAT Explained
About Lipogems (Micro-fragmented Adipose) – Nanofat is used in musculoskeletal medicine to focus your own body’s ability to heal. It has many well-done published studies which demonstrate both its effectiveness and safety in many musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoarthritis and tendinopathies. Adipose (fat) is an excellent source of mesenchymal stem cells,
Vascular cells called pericytes and structural collagen fibers referred to as a matrix. It turns out that these cells start and support the body’s own repair process. These cells bind to the injury site and release hundreds of chemical messengers which repair the damaged tissue. By precisely placing Nanofat into the site of injury, it starts the healing process.
What happens during the Nanofat procedure?
Nanofat is created from your own adipose tissue (fat). First, we will do a small liposuction to get some of your fat. This is a minor surgical procedure done with sterile technique. We usually get good quality adipose from the upper buttock area, but other areas, such as the abdomen, may be used. You will lay face down on a comfortable body pillow, then your skin over the liposuction area will be cleaned with a surgical skin cleaner and the area will be draped with surgical drapes. The collection sites will be marked with a surgical marking pen, and local anesthetic will be injected at two skin entry sites. Then a tumescent solution of saline, lidocaine and a small amount of epinephrine is injected with a blunt needle into the fat below the skin.
This solution helps break up the fat, numbs the area and minimizes any bleeding under the skin. After the solution has set for at least 20 minutes and the area is numb, an adipose collection cannula is inserted under the skin and the adipose is gently aspirated (withdrawn). This is usually a comfortable process, but you may feel a twinge or pinch during the aspiration. The liposuction harvests a small amount of adipose, usually about 200 milliliters. I do my best to leave a cosmetically pleasing and balanced aspiration site. Rarely there may be some small dimpling in the skin which will even out naturally over the next six months.
The aspirated fat is then processed using the proprietary system, which gently washes the adipose with saline to remove the inflammatory oils while filtering and exposing the mesenchymal stem cells and pericytes in the adipose so they can best facilitate injury repair. Once prepared, the Nanofat is ready for injection.